Embassy Closings

Over at the Long War Journal, Thomas Joscelyn and Bill Roggio confirm the report that the closings of more than 20 U.S. embassies earlier this week was the result of intercepted communications between al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri and several al Qaeda operatives. The story was first reported by Eli Lake and Josh Rogin at the Daily Beast, while Joscelyn and Roggio confirm with their own sources:

Several US officials contacted by The Long War Journal have confirmed that the Zawahiri-led communication first reported by the Daily Beast did in fact occur.

As both Lake and Rogin have subsequently reported, the communication was much more complex than a typical "conference call," which they used as a shorthand description.

The original Daily Beast article set off controversy and speculation, with many assuming that such a communication would not take place because it would compromise al Qaeda's operational security. But much of that speculation was fueled by the idea that what had transpired was akin to an ordinary business call. It was not.

A recent conference call among al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri and other senior leaders of the terror organization was intercepted by U.S. intelligence, alerting officials to the threat of an attack and prompting the closure of American embassies in dozens of countries. Eli Lake and Josh Rogin at the Daily Beasthave the scoop: